Last month, Warner Bros. Interactive announced Hogwarts Legacy, which is a role-playing game set in the Harry Potter universe. Although the studio released a debut trailer alongside the announcement, there are still tons of info that players don't know about the game, apart from the fact that it will be set in the late 1800s.
Given the timeline, Hogwarts Legacy will feature a story that hasn't been extensively covered in the Harry Potter books, giving Warner Bros. Interactive the opportunity to provide fans with a fresh and original experience. Of course, it will be interesting to see how Hogwarts Legacy will play out once its released, but most players would probably agree that one of the most important elements of the game that should be done right is the way players can perform magic in the Hogwarts Legacy.
Spellcasting in Previous Harry Potter Games
Ever since the introduction of the Harry Potter books and movies, Warner Bros. Interactive has also been releasing games that tie-in to the film franchise. In previous Harry Potter games, with the latest being Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, players are given a fair amount of spells to perform. Some spells require a cool down period forcing players to strategize their next move instead of just rapidly casting the same spells on their foes.
Although the combat in previous Harry Potter games are exciting, the main focus of each game is to tell the stories of the movies. However, given that Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world game that does not follow any of the books written by J.K. Rowling, it is important for Warner Bros. Interactive to get spellcasting right, given that it will be an important element to the overall experience of players in the game. As previously mentioned, the exact gameplay mechanics of Hogwarts Legacy is still unknown, but one thing that Warner Bros. Interactive can do to separate it from the movie tie-in games is to take a page from other open-world RPGs such as Skyrim and Dragon Age.
How Hogwarts Legacy Should Approach Spellcasting
One way Warner Bros. Interactive can approach spellcasting in Hogwarts Legacy is to tie it with specializations. In the established lore of the Wizarding World, there are seven classifications of spells: Transfiguration, Charm, Jinx, Hex, Curse, Counter-spell, and Healing spell. Given this, Warner Bros. Interactive can create specializations where players can place skill points as they progress through the game in a specialty they choose. As an example, players who wish to specialize on the practice of the Dark Arts, should attribute points to whichever speciality that would allow them to be more profecient in casting curses. Moreover, players who wish to specialize on becoming a support character should specialize in healing spells.
Of course, there should also be a basic classification of spells that all players must learn first regardless of their speciality. This basic category could be Charms, given that this specific classification include basic spells such as Expelliarmus or the disarming charm, or Stupefy, which allows players to stun their enemies. Moreover, it is also important for Warner Bros. Interactive to be able to depict the physical forms of spells in the upcoming game. In the movies and older video games, the physical manifestation of spells vary from energy blasts, bolts, beams, that come in varios colors. There are also some spells that contain natural elements such as fire and water, and most of which can be used as projectiles.
In the end, most gameplay details of Hogwarts Legacy are still being kept under wraps, so there is really no sure way of knowing how Warner Bros. Interactive will approach spellcasting and other gameplay mechanics. Hoperfully, more details will be released soon, especially since Hogwarts Legacy is slated to release sometime in 2021.
Hogwarts Legacy is in development for the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
